Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

Name: Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided); 2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting); 1 ½ tablespoons baking powder; 1 tablespoon granulated sugar; ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt; ¼ teaspoon baking soda; ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon buttermilk (divided)

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This recipe for old-fashioned Southern Buttermilk Biscuits are the best! They come out so thick and fluffy and melt in your mouth!

A CLASSIC SOUTHERN SIDE DISH

Being from the south, we pretty much always have biscuits at every dinner. You just cannot go wrong with these easy and delicious Southern Buttermilk Biscuits. They take minimal ingredients and just a little arm work to throw them together. It is so easy to master biscuit making with just a few steps. I don’t know a single person who doesn’t love these biscuits. So if you are looking for that perfect biscuit recipe, then you have to make this Southern Buttermilk Biscuit recipe.

Stacked Southern Buttermilk Biscuits on top of one another on white plate.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Do I have to use buttermilk?

For this recipe yes, you will want to use buttermilk. If you do not have buttermilk you can make your own at home. To do that for this recipe pour 3/4 cups of regular milk into a measuring cup and add 3/4 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice and stir. Let this sit for 5-10 minutes, stir again and then you can use.

Why do you fold the dough over on itself?

This helps incorporate the ingredients and give the biscuits the nice flaky texture that we are going for. It basically builds all those fluffy layers you want in a biscuit.

Do I have to grate my butter?

No. You can just cube it. But I have found over the years that this process makes it much easier to incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients. You can grate it large or small but I highly recommend grating it, it will make things much easier.

Why do you brush buttermilk on the top of the biscuits before baking?

This helps them brown up, brushing any liquid like buttermilk which is commonly done for biscuits or butter makes the tops of the biscuits nice and brown.

How do you get those nice tall biscuits?

The one tip every southern granny will tell you is to never twist your biscuit cutter when you are cutting out your biscuits. Just push down and pull up. When you twist the biscuit cutter, you are sealing the biscuit edges closed and it will be unable to rise as it bakes.

How do I store leftover biscuits?

These will keep on the countertop in an airtight container for up to 2 days. You can heat them up in the microwave for 15-30 seconds before enjoying them again. These can also be frozen, place cooled biscuits in a freezer container and they will last for up to 2-3 months. To thaw remove from freezer and place on the countertop, again reheat them in the microwave before serving.

Pinterest image of pastry brush brushing melted butter on Southern Buttermilk Biscuits.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)

unsalted butter
all-purpose flour
baking powder
granulated sugar
fine sea salt
baking soda
buttermilk

Ingredients needed: unsalted butter, all-purpose flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, fine sea salt, baking soda and buttermilk.

HOW TO MAKE SOUTHERN BUTTERMILK BISCUITS:

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a sheet tray with parchment paper. Grate 8 tablespoons of the butter or dice it very small and place it in the freezer for 15 minutes. Add the buttermilk to the freezer during this time as well.

In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda.

Add the butter.

Cut it in with a pastry cutter or you can use two forks. The mixture should appear crumbly with no larger than pea-sized pieces of butter.

Pastry blender cutting butter into dry ingredients.

Pour in ¾ cup of buttermilk (if any of the buttermilk started to freeze, just break it up with a fork). Stir until combined, mixture will be crumbly, with some of the flour not fully mixing in.

Buttermilk being poured into the butter and flour mixture.

Lightly dust a clean work surface with more flour. Pour out the dough mixture and work it with your hands to form a ball.

Roll the dough out into ½ inch thick rectangle.

Fold ⅓ of one side over the center. Fold the other ⅓ on top. Roll it out into a ½ inch rectangle again and fold the same way. Repeat 1 more time.

Do the tri-fold one last time but this time roll out the dough into a 1-inch thickness. Using a 2 & ½ inch biscuit cutter, cut out the biscuits.

Biscuits being cut out with a biscuit cutter.

Place the biscuits slightly touching onto the parchment-lined sheet tray.Roll the scraps back into a ball and roll it out again to cut more biscuits. Keep doing this until you have 8 biscuits. Brush the tops of the biscuits with the remaining 1 tablespoon of buttermilk. Bake for 13-15 minutes until puffed up and the tops are golden brown.

Biscuits on baking sheet being brushed with buttermilk.

While the biscuits are cooking, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Immediately brush the tops of the biscuits with the melted butter.

Pastry brush brushing melted butter on biscuits.

Let cool slightly and serve.

Close up of stacked Southern Buttermilk Biscuits.

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